In the weeks since devastating floods hit Central Texas, killing 119 people in Kerr County — including 39 children — much has been made of various investigations, legislative proposals, and potential lawsuits over what went wrong in the early morning hours of July 4. Questions remain over where exactly to place blame for the high death toll, and to what extent.
A new lawsuit, filed in Kerr County on Tuesday, appeared to be the first to make a direct claim.
The eight-page complaint was filed on behalf of the family of Jayda Christeel Floyd, a 22-year-old from Odessa, Texas, who died after floodwaters swept through a luxury RV park — or “glamping resort” — and campground on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville. The suit was first reported by KSAT and KENS5 and seeks at least $1 million in damages, claiming gross negligence against the investors, owners, operators, and general manager of the HTR TX Hill Country Resort.
Floyd was staying at the resort with her fiancé, 23-year-old Bailey Martin, a City of Odessa police officer, and his family when the river swelled 26 feet in 45 minutes before dawn that Friday morning.
Entire homes and RVs full of families were carried off all along the river, where the extraordinary “once in a century” event also swept through cabins full of eight-year-olds at a private all-girls camp. The youngest victims were 1 year old.
Like dozens of other Texans spending the holiday weekend on the river, Floyd and Martin were awoken suddenly by the sound of rising waters, then helped Martin’s teenage step-siblings climb onto the roof of the RV, saving their lives, according to a press release issued by attorneys on Tuesday. The couple were swept away with their RV, according to the lawsuit.
‘She Was… Going to Make a Difference’
“She was someone who was going to make a difference in the lives of people, particularly kids,” said Jayda’s father, David Floyd, in Tuesday’s release. Floyd said his daughter, a juvenile probation officer in Ector County, was pursuing her master’s degree in psychology at the University of Texas Permian Basin, after which she wanted to “change the course of young lives.”
After Floyd’s body was found, she was returned home in what local reports called an “emotional procession” organized by the Ector County Sheriff’s Office.
A spokesperson for HTR TX Hill Country responded to the lawsuit in a statement to Fox 7 Austin by saying that the company had not yet been served with the complaint but had reviewed a copy, rejected its “fundamental thrust,” and “will be prepared to vigorously defend ourselves in court.”
“Our hearts go out to Ms. Floyd’s family, her fiancé, and other loved ones — and to all of those who were impacted by the flooding that devastated the Kerrville community,” the statement said. “As has been widely acknowledged by state and local authorities, meteorologists, and other experts, no one could have anticipated the unprecedented severity and rapid onset of the flooding that occurred and that exposed serious failures in public warning systems and emergency response protocols.”
Seventeen people died at the HTR TX Hill Country Resort during the July 4 floods, attorney Jon Clark, who is representing the family, told KENS5, adding that he hopes the lawsuit will raise awareness and add to the growing demands for accountability in the wake of the tragedy.
“Businesses operating campgrounds along the river have known about its flooding history for decades,” said Clark in a press release. “We will investigate what steps — if any — were taken to monitor conditions and warn guests of the danger they were in.”
The complaint alleges the campground failed to warn guests or provide an evacuation plan.
“The flood waters scraped the structures from the HTR TX Hill Country Resort, leaving a barren wasteland,” according to the lawsuit, which claims that the company had “awareness of the risk of flooding, including catastrophic flooding,” but continued to use the site without warning vacationers of the risk. The suit also claims the resort “lacked proper plans, protocol, and equipment” to respond to the floods.
“Surviving guests of the HTR TX Hill Country Resort campground report that it was someone honking a car horn that awoke them, and they were barely able to escape with their lives as the water rose from ankle deep to waist deep in minutes,” the lawsuit claims.
“The family wants answers and accountability,” attorney Kevin Glasheen said in Tuesday’s release.